Thanks again to Only Natural Pet for another very
informative artice for the health of your pets.

As you can see, it only takes a few moments and a little
money to save your pet pain and discomfort and possible
death. Pets give us so much unconditional love that we
owe them a healthy environment. Intestinal worms do not
have to be a part of your pet's life.

Intestinal Worms and Heartworm

By Dr. Larry Siegler

The most common internal parasite problems in companion
animals are intestinal worms (roundworm, tapeworm, hookworm and
whipworm) and heartworm. Many dogs and cats can have a
mild parasite infestation and show no symptoms. A healthy
animal may fight off an infestation without their guardian ever
knowing of it. Dogs and cats with stressed or weakened
immune systems, however, will succumb to a more severe
infestation if left unchecked.

Intestinal Worms

It seems that new pets often arrive with worms. Most
puppies and kittens will have intestinal worms from
birth. The worms are passed on from the mother, and the
undeveloped immune systems and gastrointestinal systems of very
young animals cannot keep the parasite population in
check. Rescued animals should also be checked for
parasite infestations as stress and crowded conditions
contribute to the animal’s vulnerability to parasites.

Animals can become infested by eating feces, ingesting
fleas, hunting rodents, coming into contact with dead animals
or eating contaminated food. Common symptoms can
include:

Diarrhea

Weight loss

Gastrointestinal disturbances

Anemia

Scratching, particularly around the base of the
tail

Vomiting

Mild to severe coughing

Eating a great deal without putting on weight

Bad breath

Puppies and kittens with roundworms may appear to have a pot
belly and exhibit slow growth. They can be born with a
roundworm infection or become infected from the mother’s
milk. The mother does not have to have an active worm
infestation to pass worms to her puppies or kittens–the
roundworm larvae may encyst in her system for years until the
hormones of pregnancy signal the larvae to migrate and
develop.

Rodents are also common carriers, so if you have a hunter in
the household, it is wise to regularly check for
roundworm. If the roundworm infestation is severe, long,
whitish worms may be seen in the stools, but they are more
commonly detected through a fecal examination by a veterinarian
that reveals the presence of eggs. The life cycle of
these worms includes a trip through the respiratory system (as
microscopic larvae), they are then swallowed and complete their
development in the intestinal tract.

Hookworms are more
common in dogs than cats. As with roundworms, puppies and
kittens can be infested in-utero or from the mother’s
milk. Hookworms attach to the wall of the intestine and
suck blood. It the infestation is severe the animal will
develop anemia. Older dogs with a weakened immune system
are also susceptible and may show signs such as poor weight
maintenance, poor stamina, progressive weakness, and possibly
bloody diarrhea. It is important that older animals visit
their veterinarian for regular checkups as not all decline in
activity can be written off to “old age.”

Whipworms are also
more common in dogs than cats. They are difficult to
detect as they are seldom seen in the stool and they produce
relatively few eggs, so a single fecal exam may not reveal the
problem. The most common signs of whipworm are chronic
weight loss and stools that seem to have a mucous
covering–particularly on the last bit of stool passed.
Whipworm infestation has also been known to manifest the same
symptoms as Addison’s Disease. If a dog shows the signs
and symptoms of Addison’s Disease such as a waxing and waning
weakness with inability to conserve salt - ultimately resulting
in dehydration, and the tests for Addison’s come up negative,
then de-worming for whipworm may be in order.

If you are seeing small worms in your dog or cats’ stools,
fur or bedding, then you are likely seeing tapeworms. Tapeworms look like
flattened grains of rice - usually found on your companion’s
bedding and/or the fur around his anus, or sometimes in the
stools. They often do not show up during a fecal exam by
a veterinarian, so watching your pet’s bedding and fur are the
best ways to detect them. Tapeworms come with flea
infestations as they are carried by fleas. Before
treating for tapeworm, you must first eradicate any fleas in
the environment (home/yard) or they will become
re-infested. (see “
The Natural Approach to Flea Control”). Consuming
rodents with tapeworm or fleas may also cause infestation, so
again if your companion likes to hunt–regularly check for
tapeworm.

If you suspect your companion may have worms, it is very
important to have a stool analysis performed by a veterinarian
to determine the type of worm for which treatment is
needed.

Prevention and Treatment

A healthy animal with a strong immune system eating a
high-quality, raw food diet is not only less susceptible to
worms and parasites of all kinds, she also will be more able to
eliminate any infestation that does occur without
intervention. Cleaning litter boxes regularly or
“scooping” the yard on a regular basis is also
important.

In treating puppies and kittens I generally recommend using
prescription de-wormers. The newer prescription worm
medications available to veterinarians are very effective and
relatively safe and gentle. I do not recommend
over-the-counter worm medications – many are harder on the
animal’s system and less effective. As worm medications
only kill the worms in the animal’s intestines, a fecal
analysis should be done approximately 3 weeks after the initial
de-worming to ensure that no migrating worms were able to
re-infest the animal’s intestines.

Herbal worm remedies
have been used successfully for many years. They are
particularly effective for less severe infestations and are
safer and gentler than over-the-counter medications.
There are no rigorous tests of the natural de-worming remedies
available since there is no money to be made there, but these
remedies have been used for many years for humans and
animals.

Only Natural Pet Para-Gone is an herbal complex with herbs
that both help expel worms and strengthen and heal the
digestive tract. Consistent dosing 3 times per day for 10
days is required for greatest effectiveness.

HomeoPet Wrm Clear is a homeopathic combination
remedy. Again, this requires consistent dosing 3
times per day for 14 days. Wrm Clear can be given to
puppies and kittens as young as 6 weeks old. A course of
Wrm Clear can be given following a course of Only Natural Pet
Para-Gone or can be given along with conventional medication to
aid recovery of the digestive tract and help prevent
re-infestation.

When using either of these remedies, it can take 3 days or
more for the worms to begin to be eliminated, depending on the
overall health of the animal and whether or not the animal is
constipated. The worms will pass out of the animal’s
system in their stools. If the animal is constipated, a
laxative herb such as
Only Natural Pet Laxa-Herb is recommended to aid digestion
and elimination since constipation will hinder the worming
process. Digestive
Enzymes (
For Dogs,
For Cats) and Probiotics
(
For Dogs,
For Cats) are also good companions to any de-worming
program, conventional or herbal, to help aid the digestive
tract.

The effectiveness of Para Gone and Wrm Clear, as with ANY
herbal or natural remedy, varies with the health of the
animal. A healthier animal being fed a high-quality diet
will respond better than an ailing animal on a poor quality
diet, (see “
What You Need to Know About Your Pet’s Food” for more
information about diet). Para Gone and Wrm Clear
will only eliminate the worms currently in the animal’s
intestinal tract, just like conventional medications. The
SOURCE of the worms must be eliminated also – i.e. fleas,
eating feces, etc. or the animal will be continually
re-infested. Also, as with conventional medications,
larvae that are migrating within the animal’s body can
re-infest the intestines within several weeks, so a repeat
fecal analysis is highly recommended.

Heartworm

Depending on where you live, choosing a method of heartworm
control may be a difficult decision. Here in the Pacific
Northwest, we are fortunate and do not have a heartworm
problem. Those living in the Southeastern states,
however, must deal with the issue year-round. If you live
in an area where the risk of heartworm infestation is high, the
decision of whether or not to use conventional heartworm
medications to prevent heartworm infestation is one that should
be guided by careful research and consultation with a holistic
veterinarian.

Animals contract heartworm when they are bitten by a
mosquito that has already bitten another animal that was
infected. The immature heartworm larvae (microfilariae)
must go through a period of development within the
mosquito. The process of change in the mosquito takes
about 10 days in warm climates, but can take six weeks in
colder temperatures – although the average mosquito only lives
30 days. Development of the larvae in the mosquito
requires a temperature at or above 80 degrees Fahrenheit for
about two weeks. No larval development takes place in the
mosquito below 57 degrees F.

The larvae are passed from the mosquito onto (not into) the
dog, or less commonly – the cat. The larva is deposited
in a tiny drop of mosquito "spit" adjacent to the mosquito
bite. For transmission to occur, there must be adequate
humidity to prevent evaporation of this fluid droplet before
the larvae can swim through the mosquito bite and into the new
host. They live near the skin for a time, then migrate to the
heart and are mature in about 5-7 months after entering the
dog’s system.

In light of this complicated life cycle in need of optimal
conditions, some areas of the country just do not see heartworm
problems occur. Many veterinarians recommend year-round
treatment even though conditions are only conducive for
heartworm during the summer months in some areas. Again,
become an informed guardian and do what you feel is best for
your companion. If it snows where you live, then
year-round heartworm protection is over-kill.

Overuse of insecticides for flea and heartworm control are
believed, by most holistic veterinarians, to contribute to the
increasing prevalence of cancer and chronic disease in our
companion animals. The long-term health of the animal
needs to be weighed against the risks of chemical
prevention. A recent article in the Whole Dog Journal
discussed the benefits of using a more prudent dosing protocol
with conventional heartworm preventatives. This can be a
viable option for those in high-risk areas.

Herbal preventatives are available such as
Only Natural Pet HW Protect. Chemical heartworm
preventatives work by continual administration of a low dose of
insecticide to kill any developing microfilariae in the
animal’s bloodstream. Herbal preventatives work in a
similar fashion, only using herbs instead of pesticides, and
they also make the animal less appealing to mosquitoes in the
first place. NEITHER method kills adult heartworms –
which is why regular testing for heartworm is absolutely
necessary regardless of what method you choose for
prevention.

Heartworm disease
(adult heartworm infestation in the heart and lungs) is a very
serious health concern and treatment for heartworm disease
should ALWAYS be guided by a veterinarian. There
are some holistic veterinarians treating heartworm without
conventional insecticides, but this should never be attempted
on your own. For information on the diagnosis of
heartworm disease see
Diagnosis of Heartworm Disease by Wendy C. Brooks DVM, DABVP on
the Veterinary Partner website